Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Canada (Ratification: 1972)

Article 2. Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the federal Pay Equity Program does not play a role in the context of the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (PSECA) and that its goal is to eliminate gender-based wage discrimination for employers in the federally regulated private sector and the remaining portions of the federal public sector. The Committee further notes the updated information provided on different initiatives undertaken in some jurisdictions including the implementation of the Manitoba Pay Equity Act in sectors not specifically covered by the Act, such as school divisions; the launching of the New Brunswick “Women Leading Women” pilot programs designed to develop female leaders by offering tools and support through coaching and peer-to-peer interactions; the continuation of the work carried out under the New Brunswick Five-Year Wage Gap Action Plan; the extension of the Ontario monitoring campaign to the hotel, motel and retail sectors, and the launching of the Gender Wage Gap Program in January 2011 by the Pay Equity Office intended to assess the gender neutrality of current compensation practices in non-unionized workplaces. An analysis of the results of the Ontario monitoring campaign, affecting over 4,000 establishments, is also under way. Noting that the Pay Equity Program does not play a role in the context of the PSECA, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Pay Equity Program and the results achieved through its implementation. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken by the provincial jurisdictions on the application of the principle of the Convention, and on their impact with regard to the application in practice of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that since the creation in 2009 of the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, emphasis has been put on modernizing and renewing the federal classification program, which includes conducting the review of the occupational group structure as well as the classification-related policy instruments. The Committee also notes that following the entry into force of the New Brunswick Pay Equity Act in April 2010, the first reports on progress were due in May 2012, and employers were generally required to start making pay adjustments on 1 April 2012, and that in Newfoundland and Labrador, the main phase of the gender neutral classification system, involving 4,700 public servant participants, represented in 900 classifications, was completed, and job profiles were developed and rated. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that in the Saskatchewan public service, the plan of classification provides a set of standard criteria with a view to ensuring that jobs with significantly different requirements are paid differently and that jobs of equal or comparable value are paid within the same pay range. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken by the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer to modernize the classification program and to provide a copy of the federal guidelines on classification monitoring once they are finalized. The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing information on the job evaluation initiatives undertaken in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan, including the practical impact they have had on addressing pay inequalities. Please also provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to promote and encourage objective job evaluation initiatives in other jurisdictions.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in New Brunswick all private sector employers continue to be encouraged to examine the gender wage gap within their organizations and to assess whether systemic discrimination and pay inequity exists; and that in Nova Scotia, the Government works with workers and their organizations to ensure pay equity complaints are addressed appropriately and that workers are paid fairly. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on any cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations for the purpose of giving effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee also asks the Government to forward copies of any collective agreements containing provisions on equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on judicial and administrative decisions related to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. It notes that the Ontario Pay Equity Office opened 860 pay equity cases, and resolved 1,434 cases in the fiscal year 2010–11 and that there have been very few pay equity complaints in other provinces, including in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. The Committee notes that awareness-raising initiatives were organized by the Pay Equity Office in Ontario, such as conducting educational seminars, developing a pay equity website and holding conferences in academic institutions on pay equity; and that the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission organized seminars to raise awareness of the Human Rights Code by smaller communities around the province. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the number and nature of complaints filed relating to equal remuneration, as well as relevant judicial and administrative decisions. The Committee also asks the Government to provide more specific information on awareness-raising activities organized on the principle of equal remuneration and the procedures available. The Committee further asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to build the capacity of the responsible authorities, in particular labour inspectors and other relevant officials, to assist them in identifying and addressing pay inequalities.

Statistics. The Committee welcomes the detailed statistics provided by the Government and notes from the results of the study of the gender wage gap over the past 20 years that between 1988 and 2008, the gender wage gap reduced from 24.3 per cent to 16.7 per cent. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the gender wage gap in the federal public service decreased from 17.7 per cent in 1999–2000 to 10.9 per cent in 2009–10.The Committee also notes from the Labour Force Survey that in 2010, the average hourly wages for women was 20.74 Canadian dollars (CAD), as opposed to CAD24.33 for men, representing a gender wage gap of 14.76 per cent. The Committee also notes the statistics provided on the gender wage gap in certain jurisdictions such as in New Brunswick where the wage gap decreased from 21 per cent in 2002 to 11.7 per cent in 2012. Welcoming the detailed statistical data provided by the Government, the Committee asks the Government to continue providing such information, and to make such information available with respect to all the jurisdictions.